1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sports equipment such as golf clubs and, more particularly, the present invention relates to an improvement to enhance the performance of a golf participant based on the physical characteristics of the golf club head.
2. State of the Art
Golf is a sport that appeals to golfers of all abilities. Golfers of great, intermediate and beginner abilities typically play with golf clubs that have been structured and modified to compensate for defects in a golfer's golf swing. Such modifications are related to the structure and physics of the golf club head and not necessarily to the materials or process of manufacture used in producing the golf club head. For example, it is known to modify a golf club face, i.e., surface striking the golf ball, to compensate for errors in a golfer's swing, such as a pronounced slice or pronounced hook, and even a lack of distance. For right handed golfers, a slice is a golf shot that includes dramatic side spin causing the ball to curve to the right and further, bounce to the right when hitting the ground. A hook is a shot that includes dramatic side spin causing the ball to curve to the left and bounce to the left when hitting the ground.
Some known modifications to the golf club face for minimizing such slice and hook shots have been implemented by providing a bulge radius to the golf club face. The bulge radius is defined as a curvature to the golf club face from the heel to the toe of the golf club head. Such bulge radius helps to provide correction to the spin of the golf ball hit toward the toe or the heel of the golf club face, thereby, minimizing hooked and/or sliced shots. The bulge radius includes an apex (i.e., highest point of curvature on club face), which in most golf clubs is structured to be at the center of the golf club face.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,115, to Murtland et al., discloses several embodiments of a golf club face having one or more bulge radii. In the Murtland et al. reference, the one or more bulge radii each include an apex that is asymmetric to the center of the club face. For example, the apex of one bulge radius is positioned toward the toe end of the golf club and the apex of the other bulge radius is positioned toward the heel end of the golf club. With this arrangement, the apexes are positioned so that the club head compensates for players having a pronounced slice and/or hook tendency in their golf shots.
Unfortunately, defining the radii and providing two different apex locations lead to a complicated formula for defining the golf club face. Further, although the Murtland et al. reference addresses modifications that can compensate for the faults in a golfer's golf swing, there are further modifications that can be made to the club face to further compensate and enhance the golf shots for golfers.